Mark Fitzloff started Öpinionated in 2017 without a grand plan. After 20 years at Widen+Kennedy, circumstances changed abruptly, and he found himself contemplating the freelance life. But Fitzloff loved agency culture too much to go solo. So he did what felt natural—he called up former colleagues who’d become CMOs and asked if they’d give him a shot at building something new.
Eight years later, Trish Adams and Fitzloff have built the Portland agency on a simple obsession: treating every brand like it deserves the strategic rigor typically reserved for global giants. “We had the luxury of working on large, global clients with interesting, complicated challenges,” Fitzloff explains. “We didn’t know any different. We thought about it as brand stewards.”
That mindset shapes everything Öpinionated does, from their work with Dick’s Sporting Goods to their campaigns for Drumstick. The agency has found its competitive edge by bringing big-brand thinking to smaller clients who rarely get that level of strategic attention.
The archive obsession that drives differentiation
Öpinionated’s first strength runs deeper than most agencies care to dig. “We love opinionated brand archivists, the nerdy librarians who are at these big companies who have these horrible little offices in the basement where they keep everything,” Fitzloff says with genuine enthusiasm. “We always go to the archives and just nerd the hell out on these companies.”
This archaeological approach to branding reveals patterns that current marketing teams often miss. The agency looks for themes woven into a company’s cultural fabric—insights that predate the current crop of brand managers and marketing directors. It’s detective work that creates authentic differentiation, especially crucial in crowded categories like CPG where, as Fitzloff notes, “it’s tough to tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi.”
The process starts with what Adams calls “a big idea and this notion of a brand opinion”—a somewhat provocative statement that positions the brand in the marketplace. Whether it’s a month-long project or a multi-year relationship, every engagement begins with this strategic foundation.
Platforms that endure and travel
Where other agencies chase quick wins or viral moments, Öpinionated builds creative platforms designed to last. “We’re really big believers in creating a platform that endures over time and becomes a touchpoint for the brand,” Adams explains. “No matter what you’re executing, it all builds equity over time.”
The approach pays dividends beyond traditional advertising. When Öpinionated creates a brand platform that resonates, clients embrace it internally. Teams use the thinking when developing new products. The platform influences all marketing efforts, not just agency-created campaigns. “When we’re really firing on all cylinders, whatever the brand idea is that we come up with is something that they take internally,” Adams says.
This internal adoption creates the kind of integrated brand experience that looks effortless from the outside but requires sophisticated strategic thinking to achieve. The agency provides building blocks and materials that internal creative teams can run with, extending the platform’s reach across every brand touchpoint.
Independence as complexity blocker
For Fitzloff and Adams, independence isn’t about rejecting authority—it’s about protecting simplicity. “Marketing and creativity in particular thrives on simplicity,” Fitzloff observes. “And yet the industry, at every turn, is under threat by complexity.”
Being independent removes roughly 10% of the complexity that owned agencies must navigate. No shareholders demanding quarterly growth. No holding company mandates to integrate with sister agencies. No pressure to upsell services that don’t serve the client’s actual needs. “We don’t have to deal with shareholders and can do what’s right, not just for the agency, but for our clients and their brands,” Adams adds.
This simplicity translates directly to client relationships. Marketers get direct access to the agency principals—the same people who worked on Nike and Coca-Cola for decades. They’re not handed off to junior account teams or managed through layers of bureaucracy. The conversation stays focused on the work and the business results.
Why talent chooses Portland over prestige
While many agencies struggle to attract and retain young talent, Öpinionated has built a reputation as a training ground for the next generation. The secret isn’t ping-pong tables or unlimited PTO—it’s opportunity.
“Every person gets a shot at working on business and really contributing in a big way,” Adams explains. In Öpinionated’s lean structure, young staffers run significant pieces of business. They have direct client contact. They produce work regularly instead of waiting months between assignments. “We’re constantly producing, so young people are getting to make work. They’re building their portfolios.”
But the real draw is mentorship from principals who remember what it was like to be young in this business. Fitzloff looks at the current landscape for new graduates and sees “an apocalyptic situation.” The industry’s missing middle management layer—the creative directors and account directors who traditionally trained emerging talent—has largely fled to freelancing.
“None of them are teaching the next generation how to do what we do,” Fitzloff notes. “We have yet to see the blowback of that missed generation of leadership.” Öpinionated sees filling that gap as both opportunity and responsibility.
Underdogs with student council ambition
When pressed to choose between weirdos, misfits, or underdogs, Fitzloff quickly picks underdogs. Not because they’re struggling, but because of their psychological makeup. “Trish and I were both in Student Council,” he laughs. “We’re not weird enough or misfit enough to feel comfortable with those. But we were very ambitious.”
That ambitious underdog energy drives the agency forward. Even in their best years, they still feel like they have something to prove. “We will have the best year yet, and we will say we still have something to prove,” Fitzloff admits. “That’s just how we’re programmed.”
It’s the kind of productive paranoia that keeps agencies sharp and clients happy. The work speaks for itself, but the hunger for recognition and growth never quite goes away.
Dear Emily and Alex: call them back
The agency’s network spans from current clients to longtime collaborators across major brands. Adams shouts out Emily Silver at Dick’s Sporting Goods, a former Pepsi colleague who helped bring Öpinionated into the sporting goods business. “She’s a big part of the reason why we’re doing great work for them.”
Fitzloff reaches back further to Alex Keith at P&G, now president of global beauty and personal care businesses. “She’s had as much impact on my career, possibly second only to the woman to my left,” he says, nodding to Adams. “She’s wonderful, and I always want to say hi to her, even if she’s too busy to write me back sometimes.”
The agency also has professional crushes brewing. Their head of new business has her eye on Doug Sweeney at Aura, a former Levi’s client of Fitzloff’s. And they’re actively trying to reconnect with Stacey Chaffet, who moved from Pepsi to Hershey. Message received, Stacey—pick up the phone.
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Contact: info@opinionated.group
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